Alison has over 27 years’ experience in the financial services industry as well as earning her B.A. in Music from Agnes Scott College. Alison is a member of several professional organizations, has served on advisory boards and holds multiple certifications in a variety of disciplines. She has been a hospice volunteer for over 14 years and also provides sound therapy demonstrations for Piedmont Columbus Regional as part of the Healing Notes program.

Alison has been an instructor for 15 years in project management, sound therapy, metaphysical topics and stress management through Columbus State University Continuing Education and Cunningham Center as well as the International Sound Therapy Association.

She has presented to numerous civic and health care organizations, the annual CRHS Mind, Body & Spirit Retreats and John B. Amos Cancer Center on these topics. Her life-long love of music and sound, thirst for knowledge and desire to help others, along with inspiration from her own recovery of stress-induced illness, has led her to create a unique blend of traditional and holistic concepts in her training and coaching.

Dale Jackson from LaGrange, GA is a Father, Activist & Business Owner. He and his family have worked very hard to provide their beautiful son, who has autism, with the most natural wellness plan which includes CBD’s.

<MODERATOR> Celia C. Solomon is a psychotherapist and artist in private practice specializing in Creative Arts Recovery. She has counseled individuals and groups through significant life transitions for over thirty years in a variety of settings including Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Columbus Hospice, and John B. Amos Cancer Center. Most recently, Celia pursued her creativity with women’s empowerment journeys, “Awakening Your Fierce Feminine Fire” in conjunction with colleague, Mary Ellen Connett. Celia is now on the creative journey of Conscious Aging herself as she further develops her own artwork and continues her counseling practice in hometown Columbus, Georgia.

<PANEL MEMBER> Jerry Farber's unique style of hip piano finesse and warm-blooded humor endears him to fans. Fans have voted Jerry One of the Top Five Celebrities in Atlanta in an Atlanta Constitution / WSB Radio Poll. He was also elected Entertainer of the Year by Atlanta Magazine three times in recent years. Featured in a short documentary about his life as an older comedian on the road. It's called "Jerry-atric: One Comic's 77-Year Climb to the Top of the Bottom" and premiered at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in 2016. Come watch Jerry bring humor to the topic of Conscious Aging.

<PANEL MEMBER> Hellen Pinkney is a native of Columbus, GA, and an N.P., Mental Health Clinician, and Holistic Health Coach. She achieved her Master's Degree from the University of Penn, and has since taught school as a Nursing Instructor and Instructor at St Peter’s College. She has worked in every aspect of Nursing from Newborn, Hospital Bedside, Head Nurse, Home Health, Case Manager for an Insurance company, School District Nurse, and as a Therapist working with family, children, groups, and substance abusers. In Florida, Hellen worked as a Nurse Practitioner, and with DJJ, and Elderly throughout the state. She continues to learn and improve herself, and has studied with Lynn Andrews, becoming one of the first graduates of the Sacred Arts training course. Her love and passion is serving people, and telling stories to teach others.

<PANEL MEMBER> May MacDaniel, Hiker Extraordinaire, Manchester, GA. May McDaniel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Masters of Arts in Education/Guidance and Counseling from East Carolina University. She has been a high school counselor, Army Officer, business owner, management consultant and professional speaker.

May McDaniel is serious about physical fitness and healthy eating. In 2017 she took up backpacking and hiked the Appalachian Trail. In order to encourage others to join her on the journey to live long and live well, she founded Destination 100, Inc.

<PANEL MEMBER> Dr. Ron Hudson is a Family Practice and Concierge Physician serving the Columbus, GA area. He graduated from UGA and The Medical College of Georgia, and is a Family Practice faculty member at Emory University Medical School.

His major interest and emphasis over the last 36 years has been on the proactive and preventive side of medicine whether that is the physical, or emotional issues, that determine "wellness." He has found this type of medicine, delivered in the context of Family Medicine, to be most satisfying and made the biggest difference to patients and their families.

<PANEL MEMBER> Stephen Akinduro is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He spent most of his formative years in Europe and then his dad's homeland of Nigeria where he got his higher education at the University of Lagos. Stephen has been a resident of Columbus Georgia for 24 years and is on the board of the local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

Stephen is a passionate advocate who uses his lived experience of mental illness and recovery to promote mental health awareness and help break the stigma associated with such disorders. He actively serves through a number of NAMI signature programs like "In Our Own Voice", "peer to peer". and "Ending the Silence".

In 2013, Stephen was recognized by Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and presented with the "Autherene Lee Person of the Year Award" for his contributions in the community by helping people with mental health disorders. He has was also recognized in 2014 by NAMI Georgia as the top "In Our Own Voice presenter "in the state for all the presentations he gave at Fort Benning for active duty soldiers.

<PANEL MEMBER> Frank Dunford, former President of the local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Frank graduated from Baker High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was honorably discharged, and has since worked for the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office and TSYS.

In 2010, Frank attended the Georgia Crisis Intervention Team training course and shortly after that became a member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). He became certified as a CIT Coordinator/Instructor and brought a group of corporate security team members and HR partners from Synovus, TSYS, and AFLAC to the first “Corporate” CIT class in history. After the exuberant response from these participants, he created the 8 hour MIAD (Mental Illness Awareness and De-escalation) course at TSYS, and has since trained over 500 team members to date.

In 2010, Frank was voted the president of NAMI Columbus, and began expanding the support groups to Fort Benning, The Bradley Center as well as creating profiles on all social media for their affiliate exposure. In 2018 he received the highest honor TSYS gives, the President’s Circle Award. Frank is now taking MIAD to other TSYS locations in the United States.

<PANEL MEMBER - TENTATIVE> Rich Higbee is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He brings over two decades of sales & marketing experience in the direct sales industry. Rich has worked as an executive leader in both large, well-established companies, as well as startup companies. He joined the Amare team because he believes in Hiep Tran’s vision of empowering people to live happier and healthier lives. Rich played a pivotal role in defining the mental wellness direction for Amare, and believes the position and timing of the products & platform are perfectly aligned with what our society needs & wants today.

<PANEL MEMBER> Jacy Jenkins graduated from The University of Georgia, then spent 3 years serving the inner-city in Los Angeles, with over 200 ministries, through The Dream Center. Jacy returned to Georgia to help run a family tax business, during which she intermittently worked for two years with residential treatment services for boys and girls, domestic violence and rape crisis centers.

Jacy Jenkins is foremost an entrepreneur that has started and sold an apparel line, a food truck, and a tax business. She helped set up the tourism industry as the Director of Tourism for Phenix City-Russell County, AL and Co-founded Way Down Film Festival in Columbus, GA in 2016.

Jacy is a visionary, who founded a collaborative, culture, online magazine, Electric City Life, and Monthly Meeting of the Minds. Jacy served as the Marketing Director and Talent Buyer for The Loft (restaurant/venue/recording studio/event space) for three years, and continues freelance consulting for writing, event planning, marketing, organizing festivals, events, and fundraisers. Most recently, she was recruited by Fun Academy Motion Pictures as the Outreach Director, and is excited to help promote and distribute their first animated feature film, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, and be a part of the growing film industry in her home state.

<PANEL MEMBER> Brittany Luther-Jones is the Director of Quality Improvement at The Bradley Center. She graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University and Columbus State University with a BS and MS in Psychology and Counseling.